In The Know - Year 8

MADONNA "MADDIE" GILKES
played by Kacey Barnfield

Maddie is one angry young girl. Her mother was only 16 when she had her, at which point her older boyfriend disappeared. She has a reputation for bullying and violence, and is desperate for her classmates not to discover her real name.

Maddie was best friends with Shona until she left. Together they delighted in causing trouble. They spread rumours about Kelly being lesbian and eavesdropped on Miss Carver's meeting with the Millers. This year, Maddie has become increasingly frustrated that her mum is never home and has turned to the bottle for comfort. She was humiliated by Tina but Martin urged her to stand up for herself.

JOSH IRVING played by Shane Leonidas

Josh comes from a Jewish family. He's bright, sparky and enthusiastic, and gets on well with his classmates. His parents, Jonathan and Ruth, uphold Jewish traditions which don't intrude upon their modern lifestyle, and are both New Labour supporters. Josh is a big comedy fan, and can even recite routines verbatim!

In Year 7 Josh joined Vikki's athletics club, not to get fit but because he fancied Vikki! He overheard Kelly talking to Vikki about lesbians, sparking rumours of a liaison between them. Josh is now preparing for his Bar Mitzvah.

KATHY McILROY played by SAMMY O'GRADY

Kathy's roots are in Ireland, but she grew up in London. She's something of a tomboy - and a big fan of rugby - but she's a loyal friend who'll stand up to anyone daring to cross her pals. Her parents moved to London from Belfast in the 1980s because of disapproval over their relationship. Hence Kathy has the values of tolerance and kindness firmly instilled in her.

Kathy was sent to Coventry in Year 7 when she told her favourite 19 Down star what she thought about her classmates. She befriended Martin and realised he was autistic. This year Kathy has been elected Year 8 rep and was promoted to school web site editor after Anika was sacked. She helped expose Deverill and persuaded Josh to go through with his bar mitzvah after racist threats.

MARTIN MILLER played by Matthew Buckley

Martin is Ben's younger brother - he lives with his family near to Grange Hill. He finds it difficult to make friends and is therefore socially waylaid. But he does enjoy his schoolwork - often doing more homework than was asked of him. Brother Ben hates to be seen near Martin at school - yet is fiercely protective of him.

Martin's behaviour gave much amusement to Maddie and Shona, but Kathy took him under her wing. She later deduced he was suffering from Asperger syndrome - an autistic spectrum disorder.

Martin is now part of the school web site team. He developed a crush on Leah and thought he'd have to quit, but Josh reassured him this was normal. Martin felt sorry for Maddie on her birthday and persuaded her to stand up to Tina.

SHONA WEST played by Sophie Shad

Shona is Lisa's little sister. Following the break-up of parents Don and Sally, she now lives with her mum and her boyfriend in the country. She is very much living in Lisa's shadow, and because Shona craves acceptance she'll go along with anything, even if this means resorting to bullying.

In Year 7 Shona was best friends with Maddie and they got a kick out of winding up Martin. This year Shona smuggled Lisa's mobile phone to school, causing Lisa to get mugged. She got drunk at Maddie's and Don decided it was best she lived with her mum.